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Germany's Ali Tekintamgac Gets 3 Years in Prison for Cheating

German poker player Ali Tekintamgac went before the Augsburg District Court on July 11th to face the court’s decision on his role in repeatedly cheating at the poker table. Tekintamgac was arrested on suspicion of fraud in September.

The arrest was just the beginning as Tekintamgac was later accused of running an international cheating organization. The organization is believed to have been involved operating at poker tournaments and working in Hamburg during a number of illegal, live poker games. During the trial Tekintamgac pled guilty.

The Turkey-born German player hit the spotlight when he first won the World Poker Tour Spanish Championship in Barcelona for €278,000 back in 2010. Tekintamgac was not allowed to play the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event final table in Cannes that year due to cheating allegations that surfaced. Some members of the media were a major part of the system used during the WPT and Partouche Events which allowed those media members to telegraph the hole cards of other players to Tekintamgac.

The following video shows an alleged 'poker journalist' standing behind Tekintamgac's opponent during the 2010 WPT Spanish Championship. The spy would then send a particular code to Tekintamgac — note the 27-second mark:

The cheating ring had a number of accomplices helping Tekintamgac with his dastardly plan according to the Augsburg District Court — several casino employees were part of the ring.

A key accomplice in the cheating ring — referred to as "Andy" — was also found guilty of cheating at poker and ordered to pay a fine during Friday's ruling. Germany's Augsburger Allgemeine stated that "Andy" avoided prison by giving useful information that helped solve the case.

German authorities are looking for another person who is believed to also be a key member of the ring, Kadir Karabulut. Karabulut went missing on March 4th, 2013, and is suspected of having played a role in several cheating episodes by employing bloggers to aid in cheating. Karabulut was banned from the Holland Casino Dom Classic in 2011 after he was accused of cheating.